This week, Crofton Park became the first station in the Thameslink network to be adopted a local community group.

The Crofton Park Railway Group had already established a garden on spare land at the station and the signing of the Station Partnership formalises the commitment between the two to work together further.

The station garden includes flowers, as well as vegetables, and is looked after by the Crofton Park Railway Group. Thameslink has agreed to let the group expand further on the station, and will also pay for an in-depth survey of the space to support the group's aspirations.

The garden has helped transform an overgrown area of the station which, historically, was plagued with litter, including a number of old mattresses. Since the creation of the garden, fly-tipping has reduced significantly and the group has plans to make it even more attractive to the 700,000 passengers who travel through the station each year.